LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

DC GATHERS ITS OWN BUNCH OF SPECIAL SUPERHEROES

Jason Momoa has called Australia home for most of this year while filming Aquaman on the Gold Coast. But before cinema-goers get Aquaman’s origin story, they’ll get a taste of what he has to offer in Justice League.

DC’s equivalent to Marvel’s The Avengers, the superhero action epic introduces Momoa as Aquaman, who agrees to fight alongside Ben Affleck’s Batman, Gal Gadot’s Wonderman, Ezra Miller’s The Flash and Ray Fisher’s Cyborg. Q: What went through your mind when director Zack Snyder first approached you about playing Arthur Curry/Aquaman and reinventing this iconic superhero?

When Zack first approached me, it was a bit of a mystery because when I went in for the audition he wanted me to read for Batman – and Ben (Affleck) had already been cast in the role by that point.

So, I knew something fishy was going on and just read the lines with a lot of attitude, like I didn’t care what was on the page (laughs). And then Zack said to me, ‘Do you know who I want you to play?’ I said, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll be a villain or some bad dude who comes in and fights Batman – sounds like fun’. He said, ‘I want you to play Aquaman’.

So, I was just standing there, kind of in shock. All I could think of was the traditional Aquaman from the comics – who is white and blonde and wears the orange and green costume. I thought he had to be joking… but Zack had this look on his face. He said, ‘Hear me out,’ and told me that he wanted the Aquaman in this film to be an outsider.

I was born in Hawaii and raised in Iowa, and basically grew up an outsider, so I could definitely identify with that.

I also liked that Arthur is a half-breed – half-Atlantean and half-human – and was really interested in the idea of him being this brown-skinned superhero who is part of two worlds but doesn’t belong to either one. I think that’s pretty special.

And me being a Hawaiian, Aquaman’s mythology also resonated with me because we have water gods in our culture – and that goes for many islands. Q: How much did you know about the Justice League?

I was a big comic book fan. I read a lot of different comics when I was a kid, and obviously loved Batman and superhero movies in general.

But I hadn’t read a lot of Justice League prior to this film, so I did my research. Q: You’re a part of an ensemble cast bringing these larger-than-life heroes to life. What was it like the first time all of you

came together on set?

I played it cool, but I was totally geeking out on the inside (laughs).

We really loved being on this journey together, and always wanted to see each other on set.

Whether it was doing team-building scenes or these ambitious, complicated stunt sequences, we’d always support each other and try to make each other laugh.

One of the great things about having these actors in these roles is that they’re all just so perfectly cast.

Batman is my favourite character, and when I first saw Ben Affleck in that cape and cowl, it was so cool.

He’s an amazing Batman. And Gal Gadot is the perfect Wonder Woman.

She’s just this powerful presence, but so warm and absolutely stunning.

And I can’t think of a better choice for The Flash than Ezra.

And then there’s Ray as Cyborg, and, to me, he has the hardest role.